Strands is the latest word game from the New York Times and is rapidly building a player base to rival Wordle.
The free-to-play daily game challenges players to find a series of words from a jumbled up grid of letters. As well as horizontal and vertical chains of letters, though, Strands allows players to link a letter with any of the nine other letters that surround it, giving players plenty to think about.
Strands is currently available to play via the New York Times app, as well as on mobile and PC. Check it out here.
There are a number of different themed words to be found per daily game, linked together by a cryptic clue. None of these words will overlap and they’ll fill the entire game board. There’s also something known as a Spangram, one or two words that describes the puzzle’s theme and touches at least two different sides of the board.
For every three non-themed words a player finds, they’ll be rewarded with a hint to help them complete the board. This hint will highlight which letters make up one of the words, while using a second hint will tell players the order of the letters. Hints can be stacked, but words must be longer than three letters.
The different themes mean that, on some days, Strands will be playing to your strengths while at other times you’ll undoubtedly be left scratching your head. Don’t worry though, NME is here to help. Below you’ll find the answers for today’s edition of Strands, alongside some helpful hints to assist you in solving the Spangram.
Strands hint and clues for today (#194, September 13)
Yesterday’s Strands theme was “This should be right up your alley” and the themed words had to do with paths forming a route between places, such as ‘blocks’, ‘puzzle’ and ‘puppet’.
Because of this, the Spangram was ‘Thorough fare’.
Today’s theme is “Boots and saddles”.
Your hint for today’s Strands is: Red Dead Redemption
For a clue about today’s Spangram, it begins with a ‘W’, ends with a ‘S’ and is one word.
Today’s Spangram (September 13)
Want something to kick off your Strands discovery for the day?
Today’s Spangram is ‘Westerns’ which starts with the ‘W’ in the middle of the leftmost column, and ends with the ‘S’ approaching the top right.
Today’s Strands answers (September 13)
As well as ‘Westerns’, today’s theme of “Boots and saddles” gives us the following theme words:
‘Duel’ – starting with the ‘D’ in the second row from the top
‘Horse’ – starting with the ‘H’ in the second row from the bottom
‘Bounty’ – starting with the ‘B’ in the middle
‘Cowboy’ – starting with the ‘C’ in the top right
‘Sheriff’ – starting with the ‘S’ in the leftmost column
‘Outlaw’ – starting with the ‘O’ near the bottom right
‘Saloon’ – starting with the ‘S’ in the third row from the bottom
Past Strands Spangram answers
To help you get in the correct mindset to solve Strands, it might be useful to look back and see how the different themes have lined up with the Spangram. Here are some recent examples:
#193 Theme: “This should be right up your alley” – Spangram: ‘Thorough fare’
#192 Theme: “Play-with words” – Spangram: ‘Toy store’
#191 Theme: “Give it a whirl!” – Spangram: ‘Ballroom dance’
#190 Theme: “Go play outside!” – Spangram: ‘Lawn games’
#189 Theme: “A royal shade” – Spangram: ‘Purples’
#188 Theme: “Know your material” – Spangram: ‘Fabric’
#187 Theme: “Just right” – Spangram: ‘Three bears’
#186 Theme: “Going underground” – Spangram: ‘Root vegetables’
#185 Theme: “American beauty” – Spangram: ‘National parks’
#184 Theme: “Striking sounds” – Spangram: ‘Bell tones’
#183 Theme: “Order in the court!” – Spangram: ‘Titles’
#182 Theme: “Serve ginger-ly?” – Spangram: ‘California roll’
#181 Theme: “Makeshift music” – Spangram: ‘Jug band’
#180 Theme: “Let’s play” – Spangram: ‘Video games’
#179 Theme: “Coffee order” – Spangram: ‘Wake up and …’
#178 Theme: “Commuter benefits” – Spangram: ‘Public transport’
#177 Theme: “Pixar fare” – Spangram: ‘Ratatouille’
#176 Theme: “See you on the court” – Spangram: ‘Grand slam’
#175 Theme: “Into the woods” – Spangram: ‘Forest’
#174 Theme: “Crumby theme” – Spangram: ‘Crackers’
#173 Theme: “The nose knows” – Spangram: ‘Common scents’
#172 Theme: “Smoothie moves” – Spangram: ‘Blender setting’
#171 Theme: “One for the ages” – Spangram: ‘Happy Birthday’
#170 Theme: “I think we’re covered” – Spangram: ‘Rain Gear’
#169 Theme: “Hear me roar!” – Spangram: ‘Big Cat’
#168 Theme: “What do you make of this?” – Spangram: ‘Art Class’
#167 Theme: “Carle classic” – Spangram: ‘Hungry Caterpillar’
#166 Theme: “This or that” – Spangram: ‘Options’
We’ll update this page each day to ensure it’s got the latest Strands answer, as well as clues to help you figure out the Spangram.
Strands is currently a beta release for the New York Times, so don’t be surprised if things change over the coming weeks and months for the game. “During this testing period we aim to learn whether our customers are interested in the game and what improvements could be made before it can be released more broadly,” said the New York Times.
